Remittance inflow may be hampered

Starts remittance shutdown

Mahfuz Emran: Remittance flows returned to growth. However, in the context of internet shutdown and nationwide conflict and curfew, there is a risk of decline in this July. As of July 24, remittances have reached only $1.5 billion. Of this, about $98 million came in the first 13 days.
And in 10 days from July 14 to 24, remittances came in about $53 million. While last month (June) expatriate Bangladeshis sent $254.16 million remittance to the country.
Those concerned say that there has been anger among expatriates around the world due to violence, deaths and internet shutdowns in the country. Some of them are campaigning about not sending remittances through banking channels in the country. In this situation, the remittance flow may decrease at an alarming rate in the last week of July. In that case, the remittance coming in July may be the lowest this year.
Although the executive director and spokesperson of Bangladesh Bank Majbaul Haque feels that expatriates will not respond to the campaign to send remittances to Hundi. He is hopeful that expatriates will send remittances to the country through banking channels.
The spokesperson of the Central Bank told, “Until July 24, remittances of $1.5 billion have arrived in the country. However, this calculation may increase slightly. Because the bank was closed for five consecutive days. Although banks opened on Wednesday and Thursday, the range of activities was very small. Banks were limited to cash deposits and withdrawals only. Remittance in Nostro account is not fully reconciled. Full account of remittances will be available by the end of the month if the banking activities become completely normal.
By reviewing the data of Bangladesh Bank, it can be seen that the lowest remittance in the first six months of the current year 2024 came in March. In that month, remittances to the country reached $199.70 crore.
Before this, remittances of $211.31 million in January and $216.45 million in February came to the country. In April, expatriate Bangladeshis sent remittances worth $204.42 million. And in May remittance came $225.49 million. Last June, expatriates sent a record $254.16 million in remittances, the highest in the last 47 months. Earlier in July 2020, expatriate Bangladeshis sent the highest remittance of $259.82 million in the history of the country.
Most remittances from the Middle East come into the country through Islami Bank Bangladesh Plc. The bank receives more than one-fourth of the country’s total remittance flows. Islami Bank’s Managing Director (MD) Muhammad Munirul Mawla told, ‘After being closed for five consecutive days, banking activities are going on a limited scale on Wednesday and Thursday. The remittances which have arrived in the country in these two days, are sent during the closing time. We have also heard about the campaign not to send remittances through banking channels. The impact of this campaign will be understood next week.
The top executives of three other private banks of the country said that the amount of remittances that were expected to arrive in the country on Wednesday and Thursday after banks were closed for five consecutive days, was not seen. We have to wait till the first week of August to understand the actual situation. Employed expatriates are paid on the first or last week of the month. At this time, if the remittance flow does not increase, it must be understood that the situation is dire.
Violence spread across the country on Tuesday, July 16, centered on the quota reform movement. At least 206 people have been confirmed dead in a continuous week of violence and clashes till the latest news. Due to this incident, internet connection was stopped in the country from 18 to 23 July. After that, Internet service was not fully normalized even though it was launched on a limited scale. Besides curfew, the government has deployed army across the country to bring the situation under control. There is now a kind of tension among the expatriate Bangladeshis due to the violence and death in the country. In some countries of Europe, America, including the Middle East, expatriates held rallies and demonstrations in solidarity with the student movement. Among these, the announcement of remittance ‘shutdown’ has also come from some gatherings.
Those concerned said that the expatriates could not communicate with their families for the past few days as the internet was off. This matter has made a large part of them angry. One such expatriate is Jaydeb Karmakar. He is working as a construction worker in Saudi Arabia. He told, “I send more money to banks and development.” That was the situation; No one will send money in the next two-one months. Even if sent, maybe Bikash can send money for family expenses. Also, will not send any money. No contact with family for 10 days, could not see children. Internet is closed. There is a grudge in the human mind. Thus, there was no need to turn off the internet and cut off all communications. We are living in fear in the diaspora.
He also said, ‘Someone’s father, brother has died, some have fallen ill. No inquiry could be made at this time about anyone who was sick before. That is why there is more anger among expatriates. Many can’t pay money in the bank for two months.
Not only the Middle East, but some of the expatriates staying in different countries of Europe and America are also making similar statements. Munawar Hossain, a Bangladeshi lawyer living in France, has made the same statement as Saudi expatriate Joydeb Karmakar. He said, ‘Bangladeshis have held protest marches and gatherings all over Europe including France. There is absolute freedom of any kind of assembly and expression. France has decided not to send direct remittances to expatriates for the time being. Many have said that they will send it in another way if there is an urgent need. This is a protest against firing on students.
A large part of the remittances in the country come through the use of agent banking or MFS services. One of the developments of these services. According to Bikash agents in different districts, no one could send remittances using the service from 18 to 24 July due to internet shutdown.
Feroz Alam Russel, the owner of Maya Telecom, which is adjacent to the girls’ school in Laxmipur town, told, “There was no transaction from abroad due to the internet connection being down in the last one week. Now the transaction has started. He said that every month, on an average, about Tk 40 lakh is transacted in Bikash. This month it has halved. Earlier where Tk 2 lakh was transacted, it has come down to less than half.
Besides, it is feared that the recent imprisonment of 57 Bangladeshis in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may have a negative impact on remittances. According to the relevant sources, the fear of arrest is working among those who protested in the Middle East and other Gulf countries after this incident. Many are even afraid to go to work. The expatriates staying in those countries said that apart from the UAE, many have held large and small protest marches and human chains in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh, Qatar’s Doha, Lebanon’s Beirut and Oman’s Salalah.
Among them, it is known that some people have been detained in two countries besides the UAE for marching in favor of Bangladesh’s quota reform movement on July 19. However, their authenticity could not be verified immediately.
Rezaul Roni (pseudonym), a Bangladeshi construction worker staying in Riyadh, said, “All kinds of processions and gatherings are prohibited here. Even then, when something happens, people come down with a procession. A rally was held in support of the quota reform movement in Bangladesh. However, due to the imprisonment incident in the UAE, there is now a fear of detention among expatriates in Riyadh.
On July 21 in Beirut, Lebanon, some Bangladeshis living there held a prayer meeting and human chain in support of the quota reform movement students. It did not materialize in the wake of the UAE incident. Even after this, there is apprehension among the expatriates whether the government there takes any kind of strict decision regarding such human chain.
Expatriate Bangladeshi Shah Maruf (pseudonym) living in Beirut said, “There has been no such movement here. However, there was a kind of effort among a large part of the expatriates.
In Qatar, expatriates have also protested and marched in favor of the quota reform movement. However, it is not known whether anyone has been arrested in this incident. The fear of detention is also working among the expatriates there.
In view of the incidents that happened in the quota reform movement, on July 19, expatriate Bangladeshis protested on various roads in the United Arab Emirates. The United Arab Emirates government sentenced 57 Bangladeshis to various terms of imprisonment for that protest. A day later, the country temporarily stopped visas for Bangladeshis. After that the worker visa processing started but the tourist visa is still closed.
A day after this incident, on July 20, the Bangladesh Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate General of Bangladesh in Dubai issued a statement urging the expatriates to refrain from these activities. All expatriate Bangladeshis living in the UAE are requested to abide by local laws and regulations, the statement said.
Then on July 24, the State Minister for Expatriate Welfare advised expatriate Bangladeshis to abide by the law. He warned, “They have ruined the image of Bangladesh abroad by agitating.” Bangladesh will not interfere in the case of convicted expatriates. It is a state matter of that country.
Although the export sector is the main source of foreign exchange of the country, the role of remittance is the most effective. According to the data of Bangladesh Bank, the export income of the country in 11 months (July-May) of the fiscal year 2023-24 was $37.34 billion. At the same time, expatriates sent remittances of $21.37 billion to the country.
Economists say that at least $30 billion of goods have to be imported from abroad against the export income of $37 billion. In that case, the actual foreign exchange income of the country is only $6-7 billion. But unlike the money that expatriates send from abroad as remittances, there is no cost to the country. All the money sent by the expatriates is contributing to the increase of the reserve in addition to meeting the foreign exchange expenditure of the country.
The former governor of Bangladesh Bank Salehuddin Ahmed also thinks that the country’s economy is under severe pressure. The dollar crisis in the country is also acute in the last three years. In this situation, remittances have kept the economy of Bangladesh alive. A large market for hundi has emerged in the country due to dollar crisis and exchange rate imbalance. Now if expatriates give priority to hundi instead of sending remittances through legitimate channels, the economic crisis will reach more dire levels. The existing high inflation of the country will be further fueled.